Local Directories - Good or Bad?

[avalon37]

A client has a local service business and I am trying to understand how to determine which directory type websites are legitimate and which ones can potentially harm you. Any best practice tips you can post are most appreciated. Obviously I could check top ranking websites for the search queries I am looking to rank on and see what their inbound links look like. A list of directories you might recommend is appreciated.

[tedster]

Note: This can be a useful discussion - however we won't allow listing of specific directories in this thread.

The first thing I'd check is whether the directory has a good editorial policy in who to list. If they just publish anyone who applies, that's a problem and I'd avoid them. In other words, if you see low quality, spammy sites in the categories, steer clear.

[edited by: tedster at 5:46 pm (utc) on Mar 14, 2011]

[Planet13]

...and which ones can potentially harm you.

Firstly, have we determined that sites can truly be harmed by being listed in a directory?

Didn't Matt Cutts just say (in the link that tedster provided in another thread) that purchased / spammy links would only harm sites that have had a series of other infractions?

[dvduval]

If you are paying for a "review" in a directory, that is NOT a paid link. If you are buying a sitewide link or bidding for position in the directory, that is a lot more sketchy.


Countless times people like Matt Cutts have said that directories can be legitimate if they have a good review process and don't accept just any link. Like any other website model, some are quite good, some are spammy, and most fall somewhere in the middle.

[goodroi]

Here are some things you might want to look into:

-Does the homepage have toolbar pagerank?
-Does the site show up as a backlink for the sites already in the directory?
-Check whois to see if the directory has been around for years
-Is the link nofollow or dofollow?
-How many other links will be on your category page?
-Is the link placement permanent or does it move with new submissions?
-Is the fee a one time or renewal?
-Does the site have real traffic?